Is Street Food Safer Than Restaurant Food?

Chowhounds, take heart. A survey of food trucks in major cities finds that getting your lunch on wheels is as safe -- or safer -- than stepping into a sit-down restaurant.

The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, examined the safety violations of food trucks and carts in seven cities. The firm says it reviewed more than 260,000 food-safety inspection reports in Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Seattle and Washington. The result? The trucks had the same or fewer violations.

"The notion that street food is unsafe is a myth," the report argues. "The recipe for clean and safe food trucks is simple -- inspections."

As Vox reported, each employee working in food trucks in New York City are required to get a health department license. In a stationary restaurant, the health department requires just one employee per shift to have a license.